I thought I’d take this opportunity to provide a brief update on the development and progress of the UCLA Parkour program.

 As traceurs, we are a rare breed of people looking for challenges and pushing ourselves to new limits everyday. Whether this be breaking a new jump, leaning far enough forward on the kong to clear our hips, doing a palm spin for the first time, or learning to walk on rail.

Over the past 8-weeks, I have been teaching a course at UCLA. There are two sessions per week, 1.5hr each. The course is the first of its kind in America (as far as I am aware). It mainly takes place in doors at UCLA’s large gymnastic gym; however, we have had the opportunity to head outside for three of the classes. The students have excelled and shown surprising steps in the 8-week period.

 I wanted to provide an update of the growing parkour community in Southern California. Before I begin, the following are based solely on my own personal experience.

I’d liked to touch on what I believe is one of the more important aspects of training for athletes. Conditioning. Yes, training your particular sport is equally important!  However, if your body isn’t prepared for the sport, then longevity in the sport is unlikely. You won’t see gains without putting in a little effort! I’ll keep this short, as there is a vast amount of detail that could be introduced and maybe I’ll flesh this out in future posts.

Back at the end of May at American Rendezvous 2, Dan held a module “Breaking Jumps: Psychology of Conquering Fears”. The aim of the module was to have each person attending find a single jump that would bring out the fear. The module was excellent and really illustrated the important of pushing one's comfort zone.

As I have recently started teaching weekly classes in Southern California, I have received similar questions along the lines of

“How can I get myself to do a jump?”